H.M.S. Theseus (1892)

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H.M.S. Theseus (1892)
Pendant Number: 2A (1914)
N.14 (Sep 1915)
N.98 (Jan 1918)[1]
Builder: Thames Ironworks, Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Blackwall[2]
Laid down: 16 Jul, 1890[3]
Launched: 8 Sep, 1892[4]
Commissioned: 14 Jan, 1896[5]
Sold: 1921[6]
Fate: to Stanlee[7]

H.M.S. Theseus was one of nine protected cruisers of the Edgar class completed between 1893 and 1896.

Service

Total cost, including equipment was estimated as £372,871.[8] She arrived at Sheerness on 12 August, 1893 and was delivered to the Medway Dockyard Reserve authorities.[9] On 4 December, she left Chatham under the command of Captain Beresford to undergo steam nad gunnery trials in the North Sea.[10] Defects in her feed pipes caused her to fail her natural draught trial, and she was sent back to Chatham Dockyard to have her defects made good, with all trials being suspended.[11] By 6 January, 1894, she had passed all her trials and was to be made ready for sea.[12] The cruiser was finally added to the effective list on 23 April 1894 and she passed into the "A" Division of the Medway Fleet Reserve, ready for service.[13] By mid-May, she had been added to a list of ships for mobilization,[14] and on 18 July, she was mobilized under the command of Captain William Home Chisholme St. Clair to participate in the Annual Manoeuvres of 1894.[15] Upon the conclusion of the exercises, she paid off at Chatham on 29 August.[16]

She commissioned along with the first class protected cruiser Grafton at Chatham on 6 July 1895,[17] and the pair were ordered to convoy a group of torpedo boats to Gibraltar,[18] arriving there 27 July.[19] She left Gibraltar on 1 August to make her way to Berehaven, where she was to take part in the Annual Manoeuvres of 1895.[20]

On 23 March, 1897 while Theseus was exercising outside the harbour at Malta, a torpedo exploded while it was being lowered over the side, injuring thirty men, some severely. Two men had to have their legs amputated soon thereafter, and another died. The ship was docked to repair damage sustained in the incident.[21]

On 13 May 1897, she left Malta for Corfu,[22] returning on the 21st,[23] but on the 26th then proceeded to England in light of the illness prevalent on board since the Benin Expedition,[24] having already dispatched 27 men in the Marathon to be sent to Haslar Hospital.[25] She arrived at Portsmouth on 2 June, and sent 28 further men to Haslar.[26]

Captain Herbert Arthur Walton Onslow relieved Campbell in command and took the cruiser to Chatham, where she paid off on 19 July.[27]

She recommissioned at Devonport on 4 February, 1913.[28]

In April 1914, she was in the Training Squadron in Queenstown.

Theseus paid off at Sheerness on 10 February, 1920.[29]

Captains

Dates of appointment are provided when known.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 38.
  2. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 66.
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 66.
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 66.
  5. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 66.
  6. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. p. 66.
  7. Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 38.
  8. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Jul 24, 1893; pg. 6; Issue 34011.
  9. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Aug 14, 1893; pg. 5; Issue 34029.
  10. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Dec 04, 1893; pg. 10; Issue 34125.
  11. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Dec 04, 1893; pg. 10; Issue 34125.
  12. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Saturday, Jan 06, 1894; pg. 7; Issue 34154.
  13. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, Apr 24, 1894; pg. 10; Issue 34246.
  14. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, May 14, 1894; pg. 6; Issue 34263.
  15. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Jun 18, 1894; pg. 10; Issue 34293.
  16. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Aug 27, 1894; pg. 4; Issue 34353.
  17. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Jun 24, 1895; pg. 9; Issue 34611.
  18. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Wednesday, Jul 03, 1895; pg. 10; Issue 34619.
  19. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Jul 29, 1895; pg. 6; Issue 34641.
  20. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Friday, Aug 02, 1895; pg. 3; Issue 34645.
  21. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Thursday, Mar 25, 1897; pg. 10; Issue 35160.
  22. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Saturday, May 08, 1897; pg. 10; Issue 35198.
  23. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Tuesday, May 18, 1897; pg. 12; Issue 35206.
  24. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Wednesday, May 19, 1897; pg. 12; Issue 35207.
  25. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, May 24, 1897; pg. 12; Issue 35211.
  26. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Thursday, Jun 03, 1897; pg. 12; Issue 35220.
  27. "Naval & Military Intelligence." The Times (London, England), Monday, Jul 12, 1897; pg. 10; Issue 35253.
  28. The Navy List. (April, 1914). p. 382.
  29. The Navy List. (January, 1921). p. 873.
  30. St. Clair Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/37. f. 1143.
  31. Campbell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38/211. f. 198.
  32. Campbell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38/211. f. 198.
  33. Campbell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38/211. f. 198.
  34. The Navy List. (March, 1896). p. 268a.
  35. Campbell Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/38/211. f. 198.
  36. Onslow Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/39/225. f. 987.
  37. Tisdall Service Record. The National Archives. D7579001 ADM 196/39/539. f. 1306.
  38. The Navy List. (May, 1902). p. 306a.
  39. Tisdall Service Record. The National Archives. D7579001 ADM 196/39/539. f. 1306.
  40. Pike Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/39. f. 1032.
  41. Pike Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/39. f. 1032.
  42. The Navy List. (October, 1904). p. 385.
  43. Tuke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 637.
  44. Tuke Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/20. f. 637.
  45. Barnardiston Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 414.
  46. Barnardiston Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 414.
  47. Brownrigg Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 492.
  48. The Navy List. (July, 1909). p. 385.
  49. Brownrigg Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/42. f. 492.
  50. Le Mesurier Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 56.
  51. The Navy List. (April, 1911). p. 385.
  52. Le Mesurier Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 56.
  53. Heard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 84.
  54. Heard Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43. f. 84.
  55. The Navy List. (August, 1914). p. 382.
  56. Bather Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/438. f. 438.
  57. The Navy List. (September, 1914). p. 385.
  58. The Navy List. (December, 1914). p. 385.
  59. Macrorie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/467. f. 521.
  60. The Navy List. (November, 1917). p. 398j.
  61. Macrorie Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 196/43/467. f. 521.
  62. The Navy List. (February, 1919). p. 918.

Bibliography

  • Chesneau, Robert; Kolesnik, Eugene (editors) (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. (on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).


Edgar Class First Class Protected Cruiser
Crescent Edgar Endymion Gibraltar Grafton
  Hawke Royal Arthur St. George Theseus  
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